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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28494900">“JACKPOT!!”—Kobe Beef Combo for THREE</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/i10/pseuds/i10'>i10</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:14:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,165</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28494900</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/i10/pseuds/i10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kita Shinsuke &amp; Miya Atsumu &amp; Miya Osamu, Kita Shinsuke/Miya Atsumu, Kita Shinsuke/Miya Osamu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Miya Osamu's Keychain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            A translation of

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/14089332">【双子北】特等奖是神户牛烤肉套餐三人份（一）</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyMaster/pseuds/BunnyMaster">BunnyMaster</a>.
        </li>

    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <ul>
<li>This is a translated work. The original work is @<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyMaster/pseuds/BunnyMaster">BunnyMaster</a>’s [<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/14089332">特等奖是神户牛烤肉套餐三人份</a>]. Thank you @<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyMaster/pseuds/BunnyMaster">BunnyMaster</a> for granting me permission to translate your work into English!</li>
<li>Hi everyone! Thanks for clicking into this page. This work includes Miya Atsumu x Kita Shinsuke &amp; Miya Osamu x Kita Shinsuke, if you don’t feel like you want to read this piece, please kindly close the window. Thank you so much for your understanding!</li>
<li>I apologize for any grammatical errors since English is not my first language. And I also apologize for unable to translate their Kansai dialect.</li>
<li>Anyway I’ll try my best to translate her work into something readable.</li>
<li>Please don’t hesitate to comment!</li>
<li>The timeline is set around late September and early October — prior to the Spring InterHigh Tournament. Please enjoy ;)</li>
</ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>If there’s a hypothesis saying “the checkout queue in store is the longest line in the world,” Miya Osamu would be its No.1 supporter. At the moment he reaches out to the shelf filled with onigiri rice balls, Osamu hears his stomach growling. Therefore, with a good reason, he grabs everything he can — a roast beef onigiri, a pulled pork onigiri, a mayo-squid onigiri and a seaweed onigiri — from the shelf.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, mom would scold you if you can’t finish dinner!” Miya Atsumu yells at his brother while firmly grabbing his curry onigiri with his palm.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll finish my food.” Osamu mutters, “by the way, don’t ruin yours.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh crap!” Atsumu looks down to his hand and finds out he is squeezing the poor onigiri into pieces, “Not again!”</p><p> </p><p>While Atsumu is still grumbling about his onigiri, Osamu walked passed him to the checkout counter. There are four more people joining the queue while Atsumu is complaining, elongating the already-too-long waiting line.</p><p> </p><p>Osamu’s stomach growls even louder.</p><p> </p><p>SO HUNGRY.</p><p> </p><p>This is a torture, Osamu sighs. There’s food everywhere, yet he cannot eat anything before checking out. He has to do something.</p><p> </p><p>So he looks around, trying to divert his attention. Not to his right, which is the bakery area; and definitely not to his left, which is filled with fried chicken and barbecue skewers. What’s even worse, the guy in the front is microwaving fried noodles, filling the air with smell.</p><p> </p><p>Osamu hopelessly looks up to the ceiling, leaving a glimpse for a new poster on the corner of the wall. It’s an advertising post, noting that the store is going to hold a lottery for their 20th anniversary. Every 500 yen spend in the store counts for a draw, and each draw has a chance to win something. Apparently the jackpot wins you a chance to dine at the top-rated teppanyaki restaurant in downtown, with a coupon of a special Kobe Beef Combo for THREE.</p><p> </p><p>For THREE.</p><p> </p><p>Osamu blinks to the big number “THREE,” and captures this piece of information like a camera.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Samu, Hey! Help me with this!” Atsumu tosses the curry onigiri to Osamu, asking him to pay it together with his food.</p><p> </p><p>Okay, here we go again — typical Miya Atsumu. Osamu knows exactly what his brother wants from him. Because there were times when Atsumu asked him to pay for their food, and never paid back. For a second, Osamu thinks about tossing the onigiri back to Atsumu’s face, but he stops after reading the price of the onigiri.</p><p> </p><p>Including Atsumu’s curry onigiri, they have spent more than 500 yen in this store.</p><p> </p><p>And that’s enough for a draw.</p><p> </p><p>Just as Osamu knows the ball will always come to him, he knows for a reason that they will hit the jackpot. This has nothing to do with logic nor a deduction. It is more like an intuition.</p><p> </p><p>Although this intuition doesn’t grant him the big prize this time.</p><p> </p><p>So Osamu puts his prize — an arcade coin — into his pocket, and starts to bite on his onigiri. He’s not in a hurry. The pool is still open, and he knows he still stands a chance.</p><p> </p><p>“Samu, gimme my onigiri!”</p><p> </p><p>Before he could finish his first onigiri, Atsumu rushes to him like a hungry golden retriever. Osamu steps aside to avoid physical contact with his brother, and tosses out the curry onigiri right in the middle of Atsumu’s face. Oh well, the crumbled onigiri pieces (in the plastic wrap) hit Atsumu in his eyes and nose, making him yell even louder.</p><p> </p><p>“Arghhh Samu!!”</p><p> </p><p>Atsumu shows him a frustrated face, tearing the plastic wrap apart. Unfortunately, the crumbled pieces burst out of the wrap and spread all over him like a firework. While watching Atsumu struggle with his onigiri, Osamu devours the rest of his onigiri as fast as he can.</p><p> </p><p>“Damn!! This is your fault! Samu! You owe me an onigiri!”</p><p> </p><p>After throwing everything into the waste bin, Atsumu cleans himself up and shouts again, drawing attentions from some passers-by.</p><p> </p><p>“I have nothing left.” Osamu shows his empty palms.</p><p> </p><p>“No way! You bought four!”</p><p> </p><p>“I ate them all.”</p><p> </p><p>Much as Osamu wants to ignore his brother’s stupid-looking face, he cannot ignore the fact that they have the exact same face. And much as Osamu wants to walk away from his brother, he has a plan in mind. So Osamu turns around and offers to his brother:</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, lemme buy you snacks this week.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wha…Why? Are you alright? Are we gonna die?” Maybe he shouldn’t have said that, now his brother looks even more like an idiot.</p><p> </p><p>“And you’re gonna pay me back,” says Osamu, “next month.”</p><p> </p><p>“I knew it! I knew you’re not gonna treat me! You cheapskate!” Atsumu just never stops shouting.</p><p> </p><p>Of course Osamu’s not going to treat him. But he knows paying for Atsumu means they are going to spend more money in that store. And that money’s going to buy them more chances to win the lottery.</p><p> </p><p>As Atsumu catches up with him, Osamu notices more eyes on them. Mostly schoolgirls. As always.</p><p> </p><p>Osamu has always been familiar with that attention.</p><p> </p><p>The Miya twins have made up their reputation by their volleyball techniques, and of course, their good-lookings. They have become topics among the Inarizaki schoolgirls. Osamu never cares about what others say about them, yet Atsumu holds a different opinion. Atsumu will show off his fan base like how a kid shows off his new toys, and throw his toys away after a few plays. And even though Osamu doesn’t like to be compared with his brother, he often hears girls gossip about him and Atsumu, trying to pick a favorite.</p><p> </p><p>And this is weird.</p><p> </p><p>This is weird not because he’s being compared with Atsumu. This is weird because he starts to care about something he never cared before. And that’s what bothers him.</p><p> </p><p>“LOL I knew it! How do you feel, huh? I bet you cannot finish dinner you fool!” For somehow his brother seems to misunderstand him, and reads his bothered face is a result of eating too much.</p><p> </p><p>Well, he is not. He is just bothered.</p><p> </p><p>And Osamu proves himself at dinner — by finishing everything on the table, including Atsumu’s braised pork belly — and pisses his brother off. While neglecting his brother’s shouting, Osamu chews up his food as he always do.</p><p> </p><p>The twins have been fighting since the day they were born. They fought for toys; they fought for puddings; they fought for volleyballs. No matter what they fought for or how they fought each other, they would always get what they want. And they would always make it up at last. Everything is well-balanced between them.</p><p> </p><p>Until that someone showed up.</p><p> </p><p>Osamu feels scared for the first time. He is scared because he cares about that someone too much, and he knows Atsumu cares as much as he does.</p><p> </p><p>Osamu is scared to lose. He is not scared of losing a volleyball match, or a fight with Atsumu. He is scared of losing contact with that someone.</p><p> </p><p>That someone is going to graduate from the men’s volleyball club after three months, and he will graduate from Inarizaki high school in half a year.</p><p> </p><p>And Osamu doesn’t want to lose him.</p><p> </p><p>And that’s why Miya Osamu has to win.</p><p> </p><p>And that’s why the Miya twins have to win.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hyōgo’s rainy season comes around in late September. The days become shorter, and the sun goes down earlier. Fortunately the volleyball team finishes training before it gets too dark, so the boys can run home under the golden sunset. Osamu walks outside the campus, embracing himself under the setting sun and the purple sky. He touches his pocket, and counts the arcade coins he wins.</p><p> </p><p>They have tried more than ten times, but no one has ever hit the jackpot.</p><p> </p><p>After Atsumu takes away his new prize — a hand lotion — and asks for him to give out all his coins, Osamu begins to feel exhausted. He is hungry and all worn out, and he doesn’t even care about what Atsumu says. But clearly his brother has a talent for being loud.</p><p> </p><p>“Samu, I have invested you for your draws! So gimme my shares!”</p><p> </p><p>How could he be so noisy? Osamu reaches inside his pocket and pulls out all the arcade coins, offering them to his brother. He is exhausted, and he just want to go home.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, don’t go! Let’s go to the arcade!” Maybe his brother is more than being noisy, he is also annoying.</p><p> </p><p>And immature.</p><p> </p><p>Osamu makes his point as he watches Atsumu being extremely energetic in the arcade by jumping up and down like a kid, making the 8-year-old boy next to him looks like a real adult.</p><p> </p><p>Wait a minute…What on earth is Atsumu doing? Why is he standing in front of that machine for 15 minutes? And that is…a claw crane machine?!</p><p> </p><p>While Osamu is still confused with what Atsumu wants from that claw crane, his brother rushes to him like he’s going to save a falling ball.</p><p> </p><p>“Samu! I need some money!”</p><p> </p><p>“What?”</p><p> </p><p>Osamu never loses to Atsumu when it comes to arm wrestling games or hitting powerful spikes, but he has to admit that his brother has a faster reflex. Atsumu takes away 2,000 yen from him, and exchanges for 30 arcade coins.</p><p> </p><p>Now Osamu is completely confused. He walks closer to the claw crane and takes a look. It’s a machine of tiny food model keychains. Osamu spots sushi, Unagi don, fatty tuna sashimi and Kobe Beef barbecue. They look pretty real, especially that Kobe Beef keychain. And Osamu starts to feel hungry.</p><p> </p><p>Although Osamu hopes they can finish up quickly and go home, Atsumu seems to lose his luck after investing 11 coins in the machine. His brother is aiming for the model of tuna sashimi plate, but all he does is to push the keychain further away from his sight.</p><p> </p><p>“You missed a ‘Power Catch.’”</p><p> </p><p>Not only Atsumu is surprised by this comment and messes up with his 12th coin, Osamu also gets surprised and turns around.</p><p> </p><p>And he sees him.</p><p> </p><p>That someone.</p><p> </p><p>“K…Kita-san!”</p><p> </p><p>Just like his brother, Osamu is never a fan of math, but for somehow he can clearly sense the hours they had with Kita-san. They have just waved “goodbye” to Kita-san an hour ago, and they are not supposed to meet Kita-san in the next 10 hours.</p><p> </p><p>So what happens if they meet Kita-san earlier than they have expected?</p><p> </p><p>Osamu’s increased heart rates have told him everything.</p><p> </p><p>“Good evening, Atsumu, Osamu.” Kita Shinsuke politely nods to the twins.</p><p> </p><p>“Good evening, Kita-san.” Osamu tries hard to make himself look cool, and he has succeeded.</p><p> </p><p>“G…G…Good evening!” Unfortunately his brother has failed.</p><p> </p><p>“This machine has a ‘Power Catch’ per every three to four catches. A ‘Power Catch’ can move the claw a little bit further than normal catches.” Their captain makes a perfect punch before any of them could make a move, and Osamu realizes he is hit right in the middle of his heart.</p><p> </p><p>“Still, the ‘Power Catch’ has a limit. If you move the claw too far away, the keychain will fall. So I would suggest you to pull your target closer by using normal catches. Atsumu, you have done well before, but you maybe want to improve the timing to catch your target. See, if you calculate the distance…”</p><p> </p><p>And this is their captain. He always keeps an eye on every detail, and makes his perfect punch to everything they have missed.</p><p> </p><p>“…And that is my suggestion. Any questions? Do you want to try again?” Kita looks at Atsumu.</p><p> </p><p>“Umm…So…You play claw cranes a lot, Kita-san?” Again, as Osamu expected, his brother still looks bewildered and throws out a random question.</p><p> </p><p>“Not really. Arcade is not a part of my routine. And this is my first time playing a claw crane. I’m here today because I got a few coins from grandma, and she got it from winning the store lottery. I think it might be better for me to use them here.” Kita pulls out a paper envelope from his bag, and shows his coins to the twins.</p><p> </p><p>“Then how could you be so good at it?!” Atsumu almost screams out his confusion.</p><p> </p><p>“Because I’ve watched you play 10 times,” Kita answers, “and I think figuring out the claw’s moving regularity is more like solving a geometrical problem. I have watched you play for a while, so I did a brief summary based on your moves.”</p><p> </p><p>“If you want to try again,” their captain then moves to Atsumu, guiding him to handle the claw, “you can move your claw to the left. Yes, just a little bit.”</p><p> </p><p>“To your right this time. Good job, Atsumu. You’re almost there.”</p><p> </p><p>Osamu begins to feel thankful that he is not the one to operate the claw. His brother looks as nervous as he could ever be, yet still cannot grab the sashimi keychain. Osamu walks towards them to take a closer look, and spots the beef keychain again. He knows he wants it. Maybe not as much as how Atsumu wants his sashimi keychain, but he wants it.</p><p> </p><p>And it has come to the 29th move. It’s a “Power Catch.”</p><p> </p><p>Atsumu looks like he is at match point with Itachiyama, and Sakusa Kiyoomi is going to make a serve. While their Kita-senpai still looks calm. Up and cross, the claw picks up the sashimi at first, but drops it on the edge of the exit.</p><p> </p><p>“Hooolllyyyy crap!!! What the heck is that?!” Oops, looks like Sakusa hits “in.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay, Atsumu, you still have one coin.” Their captain calms Atsumu down with his comfort voice.</p><p> </p><p>“But we already lost our ‘Power Catch’…” Even Atsumu’s dropping brows show his disappointment.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re fine. If you push it from the right side, and move slightly towards the front, you can definitely get it. I’ll help you with it.” Kita says in a flat tone, showing no expression but a convincing attitude.</p><p> </p><p>Osamu follows Kita’s voice to the claw, and sees himself in the reflection of the machine’s transparent wall. He sees Kita-san’s face — meticulous and concentrated — as he sees Atsumu’s face next to Kita-san’s. They are so close to each other, and they are getting closer.</p><p> </p><p>Just as Osamu thinks they couldn’t get any closer, Kita presses the same button which Atsumu is pressing.</p><p> </p><p>Osamu sees Kita presses his hand on Atsumu’s hand.</p><p> </p><p>He sees the keychain fall.</p><p> </p><p>He sees himself in the reflection.</p><p> </p><p>And he sees his heart.</p><p> </p><p>Just as he sees Atsumu’s face turns into ketchup color with Kita-san’s hand on his. He knows he is falling for Kita-san. He knows they are falling for him.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Yayyyy we made it!!” Atsumu jumps up and down like a 6-year-old, and tries to hug Kita with a blushed face. While their captain just gives him a pat on the shoulder, and says: “You did good. You deserve it.”</p><p> </p><p>Osamu picks up the sashimi keychain and tries to take a look, yet his brother snatches it with his tongue out: “That’s mine!!”</p><p> </p><p>Before Osamu could make a move to snatch it back, their captain speaks up: “Are you guys still using this machine?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, we’re done. We have nothing left.” Osamu shows his empty palms.</p><p> </p><p>“Then I’ll go for it.” Kita nods to his underclassmen.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yes, please!” Atsumu answers with a cheerful tone.</p><p> </p><p>Osamu looks at his watch and realizes they’re supposed to head home at this time. But for somehow, he decides to watch Kita play. He looks at Atsumu, and knows his brother feels the same.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t believe this is Kita-san’s first time.” Atsumu stares at their captain’s moves with full concentration.</p><p> </p><p>“I know.” Osamu nods his agreement.</p><p> </p><p>And Osamu almost chokes when he realizes Kita-san is aiming for the Kobe Beef keychain.</p><p> </p><p>How does he know? Or is this just a coincidence?</p><p> </p><p>Osamu suddenly remembers how he and his teammates talks about Kita-san’s almost “robotic” behaviors, about how they are afraid to be on the receiving end of their captain’s sternness.</p><p> </p><p>Kita-san always does everything that needs to be done. He covers for his teammates, and serves as a reliable backbone on the court. He cares about his underclassmen by giving Atsumu food and drinks when…</p><p> </p><p>Osamu realizes Kita-san is looking at him in the eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Kita-san catches the beef keychain.</p><p> </p><p>And Kita-san hands the keychain to him: “Osamu, this is for you.”</p><p> </p><p>How does he know?</p><p> </p><p>Osamu blankly reaches out his hand, and Kita puts the keychain inside his palm. He feels Kita-san’s fingers give him a light touch on the palm, as if Kita-san is grabbing his heart like a “Power Catch.”</p><p> </p><p>He knows there’s no turning back for his feelings.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The three of them part with each other later that day when all the arcade coins are used up. On the twins’ way home, Atsumu walks like he is in paradise, humming all along the road. Osamu reaches his hand to the pocket, feeling the keychain lying inside.</p><p> </p><p>Although the twins have arrived home after “the Miyas’ curfew,” their parents are out of town for the weekend, leaving them a note, a prepared meal combo with a sashimi plate of fatty tuna and 20,000 yen. The twins stare at each other for a second and decide to microwave their meals.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Tsumu.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?”</p><p> </p><p>“Would you rather give a piece of your fatty tuna to Kita-san?” Osamu asks his brother when he robs the last bite of Atsumu’s fatty tuna.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you kidding me? Only one piece?” Atsumu looks so excited that he stands up from his seat, “I can offer him 1/3 of my whole meal!”</p><p> </p><p>“You bet,” Osamu stares at the fatty tuna between his own chopsticks, “and I’ll do the same.”</p><p> </p><p>Atsumu loves fatty tuna, and his brother knows it. The piece of tuna Osamu takes has a pinkish color, reminding him of something vague yet perceptual, like his and Kita-san’s reflections.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, how about we get our meals from that store this week?” Osamu makes his offer.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, okay. But why? Don’t we have more shops in the neighborhood?” Atsumu looks confused.</p><p> </p><p>“Remember that lottery they have? The pool is still open, and no one has ever hit the jackpot.” The pool is open, but Osamu is sure they don’t have many chances left.</p><p> </p><p>“What is the jackpot?” Asks Atsumu.</p><p> </p><p>“A special Kobe Beef Combo, for THREE.” Osamu underscores the “three.” He is intended to do so since he knows his brother as he knows himself.</p><p> </p><p>“For THREE…Sure! Let’s go for it!” And his brother gets it.</p><p> </p><p>They are the Miya twins after all. And they always get what they want.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The twins have been keeping a tight training schedule, even on Saturdays. They get up a bit more earlier than usual and rush to the store. A light shower might come around the neighborhood earlier in the night, and moistened the pavement while people fell asleep. At the moment they arrive at the store, the shop-owner has just opened up for the day:</p><p> </p><p>“Wow you guys are pretty early!”</p><p> </p><p>“You…look like you are not expecting us.” Atsumu has run too fast on his way, and now he can barely catch his breath.</p><p> </p><p>“Nah, usually your captain comes earlier. But the orchestra club members are the first to check things out.” Says the owner.</p><p> </p><p>“Then we are the first today!” Says Atsumu in a delight voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Hold up, champion.” Osamu never wastes a second and steps inside the store before his brother.</p><p> </p><p>With the 20,000 yen their parents left with them, they shop like a Black Friday sale and buy themselves 5 lottery draws.</p><p> </p><p>Which 4 out of 5 draws by Mr. Miya Atsumu win them 4 more arcade coins.</p><p> </p><p>Osamu sighs and takes a last shot. And, “bingo,” he gets them another arcade coin.</p><p> </p><p>“No way…Hey, what if we get an umbrella for our team? The umbrella is on sale today!” Atsumu is right. The umbrella is 1,000 yen each, so one more purchase will get them another two shots for the lottery.</p><p> </p><p>It looks like Atsumu’s not giving up as he turns around to grab the umbrella in the corner. And his brother doesn’t plan to stop him. However, they are called to a halt when they hear the shop-owner’s loud voice behind them:</p><p> </p><p>“Wow Congratulations! You hit the jackpot!”</p><p> </p><p>According to the Greek mythology, people who gazed into Medusa’s eyes were turned into stones. And Atsumu looks like he has just dated Medusa. With full shocks over both of their faces, the twins turn back to the lottery machine and see him.</p><p> </p><p>He is wearing their familiar team uniform, standing in front of the machine with a calm look, as if he has just finished cleaning the locker room.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Kita Shinsuke’s Deduction</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I think I’m into someone.”</p><p> </p><p>As boys from the Inarizaki men’s volleyball club run home after training, Kita Shinsuke opens up this conversation like he is talking about weather.</p><p> </p><p>Cinematographers grant a poetic name for the daytime shortly after the sunrise and before the sunset — “The Golden Hour.” During the golden hour, the sunlight appears to be more reddish, even orange, gilding everything with a thin gold layer. Kita turns around, and sees his friend standing in his shadow, staring at him like a petrified antelope.</p><p> </p><p>“Is there anything wrong?” Kita steps aside a little, letting in a beam of light to his friend’s face.</p><p> </p><p>“Umm, What…do you mean ‘into someone?’” His friend, the Ace of their team, Ojiro Aran, asks with a shaking voice.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just the literal meaning of ‘into someone.’ Do you want me to look up the dictionary for you?” The third-years have a quiz today, thus Kita happens to carry a dictionary with him.</p><p> </p><p>“No, thanks. I mean…I wasn’t expecting this conversation. I thought you’re not gonna talk about this before college.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think it matters, does it?” Kita holds his usual expression.</p><p> </p><p>“I know! I mean…Okay, I’m just surprised! Alright?” The Wing Spiker swings his arms up and down, trying to explain how he feels: “And who is this lucky someone? Or should I say…who is this unlucky someone?”</p><p> </p><p>“Is not ‘a someone,’” Kita smiles, “there’re two of them.”</p><p> </p><p>Aran acts like he is doing a silent muppet show, or a stranded fish gasping for breath. And finally, after 20 seconds, he starts to squeeze his voice out of his throat: “You…mean…two people??”</p><p> </p><p>Before Kita says anything, his Wing Spiker friend then takes a deep breath and showers Kita with worries: “Wait a minute! C’mon! Y’know everything has a start, right? You have to go step by step! And…with two people at your first time? You need to slow down!”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Aran. But please, allow me to answer your first question. These two people — they are Atsumu and Osamu,” says Kita in a light tone, “and it’s been a while. I feel like I have to keep an eye on both of them, and I almost feel if I…”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, okay! Stop! You stop right there!” Aran interrupts Kita with an excited voice, and struggles to catch his breath before he finally jumps back to their conversation: “I mean…captain, could you please…choose wisely on your use of words next time?”</p><p> </p><p>“I apologize. I thought this means I am ‘into’ someone.” Kita touches his chin with a confused face.</p><p> </p><p>“It is not! I think you should call it…umm…you should call it…” It seems like Aran’s puzzled by his own question, “maybe you should call it…parenthood.”</p><p> </p><p>Wow, that is unexpected. Kita must have been surprised as he bursts into laughter under the golden sun. Autumn wind has swept away some falling leaves, but the weather hasn’t got too cold yet. And now Kita only feels warm and happy.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey! Don’t ya mock me like this! I am serious!” Aran raises his voice to his friend.</p><p> </p><p>“I know, I know. It’s not mocking,” Kita still has a big smile on his face, “it’s just pure delight. I’m happy for your help. You have inspired me with a new perspective.”</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, Alright…But please! Maybe you can just say ‘I’m worried about them kiddos’ next time!” Aran shakes his head when he thinks about the Miya brothers.</p><p> </p><p>“I should always be worried about them, shouldn’t I?” Kita adds to his comment.</p><p> </p><p>“And you are absolutely right.” Now it’s Aran’s turn to burst into laughter.</p><p> </p><p>Their conversation proceeds with topics on the coach’s pet dog, the prospective freshmen and even the flavor of Kantō omelettes. When the two third-years part with each other, Kita heads home alone under the sunset while contemplating their conversation.</p><p> </p><p>Parenthood.</p><p> </p><p>What does it mean? Families?</p><p> </p><p>Maybe he is thinking of them as families, instead of “lovers.”</p><p> </p><p>Kita has read about the definition of “love” on a book. As the book describes, if “love” is something intangible, it could be a tornado, sweeping over everything on its way. Or it could be something that urges you to emancipate from your sanity, or “drives you crazy.”</p><p> </p><p>Kita admits that he is curious, and he might want to try this “crazy” experience. Yet at the same time, he feels difficult to imagine himself being insane for something he doesn’t even understand.</p><p> </p><p>But who knows?</p><p> </p><p>Kita looks up to the sky, feeling the setting sun touching his cheeks, dyeing them into a pinkish color. He is feeling the heat.</p><p> </p><p>As if he is feeling them.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“I reconsidered our conversation back home yesterday,” Kita talks to Aran as they walk to the cafeteria, “and I don’t think it’s ‘parenthood.’ It’s close, but not like that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well…I bet you can figure it out later. You’re not in a hurry after all.” His friend encourages him with a big smile and a pat on the back.</p><p> </p><p>Aran is right, he is not in a hurry.</p><p> </p><p>And he will figure it out.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>September 27th is a Thursday. And the weather report says there is a 30% chance of rain.</p><p> </p><p>Kita puts down his phone and starts to search on the umbrella shelf. With a light hesitation, he grabs a 12-year-old long black umbrella from the shelf. The texture of this umbrella is soft and comfortable, with its solid handle tenting the entire canopy up, it can definitely hold more than one people.</p><p> </p><p>According to Kita’s experience, he believes he needs to carry an umbrella that can cover more than one people today.</p><p> </p><p>Kita steps outside of the house and gazes up to the cloudy sky. The cafe near his house has not opened yet, thus he hasn’t spotted the owner’s pet cat either. As he walks along the street, tiny raindrops begin to hit the road. And it starts to get heavy while he tents up his umbrella.</p><p> </p><p>Kita is fully concentrated on each of his step, and carefully looks around him. He knows he will bump into some underclassmen in his team, especially those who often forget to bring an umbrella when raining.</p><p> </p><p>Within a few steps to the store, he hears heavy footsteps from behind. They are footsteps from two people, in the same speed. And these two are running fast.</p><p> </p><p>And he knows he will meet the twins in 6 seconds.</p><p> </p><p>Therefore, after 6 seconds, without even looking back, Kita takes a step to the left, making a path for the rushing twins, and greets them with his usual polite manner: “Good morning, Atsumu, Osamu.”</p><p> </p><p>The twins sprint pass him like two lightening bolts, leaving no signs of greetings. They must have raced each other on their way, since both of their pants are soaked in rainwater. One of them accidentally slips through Kita’s bag, leaving a trace of water stain.</p><p> </p><p>The Miya brothers. Kita chuckles as he sees them dashing in blind like a pair of beasts.</p><p> </p><p>Gladly Osamu has noticed something, and stops at his seventh step after he run passes Kita while grabbing Atsumu who is at his eighth.</p><p> </p><p>“Kita-san.” He shouldn’t be hearing Osamu over such a distance, but he does hear his underclassman calling his name.</p><p> </p><p>“Samu! You damn cheater! I know you’re grabbing me cuz you don’t want to see me win! I knew it! I swear I…” He also hears Atsumu being the typical Atsumu, shouting to his brother for a fight.</p><p> </p><p>Kita continues walking towards the twins. When he is right behind the still-shouting-Atsumu, he reaches out his umbrella to protect his underclassmen from the rain. Osamu looks back at him and nods with appreciation, and he nods back.</p><p> </p><p>Still, Atsumu is overwhelmed in his own feelings, and misreads his brother’s nodding as a “sorry” sign: “So you know it’s your fault, huh?”</p><p> </p><p>Osamu almost has his eyes rolled up: “Kita-san is behind you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wha…You think I’m a goddamn fool? I have been tricked by you since ten years ago! I’m telling you this is not gonna happen…”</p><p> </p><p>“Morning.” Kita decides to speak up before Atsumu’s going into endless quarrel with his brother.</p><p> </p><p>And he is making the right decision. He sees Atsumu’s back straightens up in an instant, almost hitting the edge of his umbrella. What’s more, even Atsumu’s hair shows his fright as he turns back slowly to Kita: “Good morning! Kita-san!”</p><p> </p><p>Kita nods back to him, raising the umbrella up over their heads and offers: “Do you guys want to walk with me? I think this umbrella can hold the three of us.”</p><p> </p><p>Mr. Kita Shinsuke never lies. And he always knows what he’s doing. Kita has lent this umbrella to Suna Rintarō, Ginjima Hitoshi and Akagi Michinari last year when the three of them were out together for a purchase. That was a heavy rainy day, and they were back with cool and dry uniforms. As a result, he believes this umbrella can hold the three of them today.</p><p> </p><p>“If you don’t mind, we can go now.” Kita looks at the twins.</p><p> </p><p>For somehow, Atsumu’s face blushes as his gaze meets Kita’s, and he takes a step back like a shy schoolgirl. Wasting no time, his beloved brother gives him a kick on the butt, forcing Atsumu to Kita’s right shoulder. Osamu then walks to Kita’s left, nodding again as a well-mannered underclassman: “Good morning, Kita-san.”</p><p> </p><p>However, forming a straight line might not be the best solution for three people with only one umbrella. The twins’ shoulders are soon soaked in rainwater. Hence, Kita proposes the three of them to form a triangle.</p><p> </p><p>So they jump in front of him like two knights surrounding their king, pledging at the same time: “This’ll do it!”</p><p> </p><p>Notwithstanding they are the Miya twins, not knights.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Samu! Don’t you walk too close to Kita-san! You’re blocking us all!”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, yeah? Then who’s gonna pay your snacks?”</p><p> </p><p>“I already paid you back!”</p><p> </p><p>“You mean last month? Watch out for yourself cuz you’re still in debt.”</p><p> </p><p>“Uggghhh you cheapskate!”</p><p> </p><p>At the time Atsumu keeps yelling at his brother, a pet dog in the neighborhood starts to bark at the twins. It seems like he has been awoken from his good dreams. As the twins and the dog keep roaring in the rain, Kita almost feels like he is surrounded by two Labrador retrievers, making him want to pat their heads.</p><p> </p><p>But they are not Labrador retrievers. They are the Miya brothers.</p><p> </p><p>Kita smiles and shakes his head. As they walk pass the neighborhood, Kita sees a tall guy standing under the roof, hiding himself from the rain.</p><p> </p><p>It’s Suna Rintarō.</p><p> </p><p>Suna makes no expression when he spots the twins as they spot him at the same time. But at the moment Suna sees Kita, this underclassman trembles like a meerkat who sees a predator.</p><p> </p><p>“Good morning, Suna.”</p><p> </p><p>“…Morning, Kita-san,” Suna nods politely as he stays alert to the twins, “please don’t worry about me, I’ll wait till the rain stops.”</p><p> </p><p>“In that case, you might miss the training.” Kita reminds his underclassman.</p><p> </p><p>“Ha! You just want to skip laps!”</p><p> </p><p>“Yep.”</p><p> </p><p>The twins nod their agreement.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, it’s not my fault to not to bring an umbrella,” Suna argues back to the twins, “and I hate to get wet.”</p><p> </p><p>“You can go with us.” Kita makes an offer to his underclassman.</p><p> </p><p>“Whaaaaaaaattt?” Atsumu never hesitates to express his dissatisfaction. And his brother supports him by showing a frustrated face.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s give it a shot. C’mon, hop in.” Kita lifts up his umbrella.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright then.” Suna sighs for a second, and hops inside right behind Kita.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, you are too close!” Atsumu yells to Suna over Kita’s shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>The twins and Suna are like a pair of coyotes and a fox. When one of the coyotes fights the fox, the other one will wait on the side for a chance to attack. Kita has noticed their behavior patterns for a while, so he decides to stop their fighting before all of them are too late for school: “We should go now. I suppose none of you want to miss our training.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay…” Atsumu never disobeys his senpai.</p><p> </p><p>Hence, the four of them cram under the umbrella and march forward again. Just as Kita thinks they are closed for the day, he hears a familiar voice from right behind.</p><p> </p><p>“Heeeyyyy guys!”</p><p> </p><p>Kita looks back and greets his friend: “Morning, Aran.”</p><p> </p><p>“No!”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait!”</p><p> </p><p>“Stop!”</p><p> </p><p>While the underclassmen don’t seem to raise hats to their Ace.</p><p> </p><p>Aran dashes like a hurricane and hops in to join the team with a big smile on his face: “Morning, guys! Ugh! I had a really rough morning when I found mom took away my umbrella. Thankfully there’s you, Shinsuke! I know you’d definitely carry an umbrella…With four people?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, we have five now.” Kita corrects him.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s crazy!”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, we’re full.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not gonna get closer to any of them.”</p><p> </p><p>The three underclassmen complain over Kita’s shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, it’s okay! I’m just taking a break! I’ll leave in a minute!” Thankfully Aran is more of a generous senpai.</p><p> </p><p>“Or we could kick Suna out! He doesn’t want to train anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, Suna should leave.”</p><p> </p><p>“Or the both of you should take a morning shower, in the rain.”</p><p> </p><p>Following Aran’s words, the coyotes and the fox begin to bite each others again.</p><p> </p><p>“Guys, guys! It’s okay! I’ll literally leave in a minute!” And Aran tries to be the good guy.</p><p> </p><p>“Or,” Kita finally speaks up, “the five of us can go together.”</p><p> </p><p>But how?</p><p> </p><p>Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is Mr. Kita Shinsuke after all.</p><p> </p><p>Kita ponders for a second, and makes an arrangement for Aran and his underclassmen: “Listen up everyone, we can make it to school. I have an idea.” Kita lifts his umbrella up: “All of you, lift up your left foot when I say ‘one,’ and lift up your right foot when I say ‘two.’ Are we clear?”</p><p> </p><p>After each of them nods to their captain, Kita continues: “Atsumu and Osamu, you guys need to sprint, but only with 50% of your full speed. Aran, remember your speed when you just met us? Run with 2/3 of that. And Suna, just use your usual ‘shortcut-looking’ speed. Any questions?”</p><p> </p><p>“No!”</p><p> </p><p>“Nope.”</p><p> </p><p>“No...”</p><p> </p><p>“Absolutely no!”</p><p> </p><p>Within all the agreements and a “how does Kita-san know about it” complain by Suna, Kita holds tight on his umbrella and says: “Then, off we go!”</p><p> </p><p>On that account, five of Inarizaki men’s volleyball club members run under their captain’s “one-two, one-two” command, and arrive at school in time. Also, later the years, this “five-guy-one-umbrella” story has become one of Inarizaki high school’s most popular tales.</p><p> </p><p>At the moment all of them enter the locker room, Kita hurries to the closet and grabs a pile of towels for his teammates. Although all of the boys should be careful enough for their health conditions, Kita is the first one to get them towels.</p><p> </p><p>Atsumu sneezes as if he has got a cold while infecting his brother as well. Though Aran looks fine, Suna is quivering with cold. As a result, Kita distributes his towels based on their conditions and how wet they are: two per each for the twins, one for Suna, and three for Aran.</p><p> </p><p>“What about you, Kita-san? You’re not getting any towels?” Atsumu looks at Kita while rubbing his hair.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry about me, I’m good. Go get changed, we are late for training.” Kita barely gets wet, thus he doesn’t get a towel for himself.</p><p> </p><p>“Remember how you guys wrapped around Kita-san like a burrito? You’d better worry about whether he’s still breathing rather than getting wet.” Suna has already zipped up his uniform, getting ready to jog.</p><p> </p><p>In fact, Kita remembers when the twins joined him under the umbrella. They did jump in front of him not only to form a triangular shape, but to block the wind for him.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe they are his knights.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey! Guys! Stop it!” It’s Aran’s voice.</p><p> </p><p>The twins are arguing with Suna again, and neither of them remember to get changed. So their captain walks to the twins, pulling each of their shirt off and wipes their hairs with towels. The twins soon stop talking, sitting well-behaved under Kita’s hands.</p><p> </p><p>“Damn you, Suna! Delete it!” Atsumu stands up in a sudden when he finds out Suna's taking their pictures. But Suna is faster, taking a step back while clicking on the screen to check out his works: “Wow, Kita-san is smiling.”</p><p> </p><p>Hearing Suna’s words, Atsumu freezes for a second and rushes to him: “Wait! Don’t delete it! Send me the picture!”</p><p> </p><p>And Suna proves to be a good friend: “You wish.”</p><p> </p><p>The coyotes look at each other for a second, and come up with a strategy to trap the fox. As Atsumu acts as a bait, Osamu sneaks near Suna from behind, and snatches his phone in a sudden. The twins then finish a series of actions, including extracting the photo and deleting the original copy from Suna’s phone before their captain could get involved and stop them.</p><p> </p><p>When Suna eventually retrieves his phone and rolls his eyes, he walks around the twins and plans for a new gift for them.</p><p> </p><p>“Hahaha Kita! Look at this!” And Aran is the first one to check out Suna’s masterpiece in their LINE group chat: Suna captures the twins’ Ronald McDonald hairs, photoshopping two clown noses to touch up on their looks.</p><p> </p><p>Not bad. Kita smiles and saves the photo from their group chat.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t believe we actually made it! The five of us.” Aran finishes changing and sits next to Kita.</p><p> </p><p>“I know.” Kita is being honest.</p><p> </p><p>“Isn’t that amazing? That is what we call a teamwork!” Aran gives him a pat on the back.</p><p> </p><p>“That surely is.” Kita has never doubted the bond he has with his teammates when conquering the court. But he believes he is looking for something else.</p><p> </p><p>He is looking for something in him and the twins.</p><p> </p><p>Something more than a teamwork.</p><p> </p><p>Something more than an upper-underclassmen relationship.</p><p> </p><p>Something more than parenthood.</p><p> </p><p>Something he hasn’t figured out yet.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>September 28th, Friday. 10% chance of rain.</p><p> </p><p>Kita does his usual morning lineup: from getting up to preparing his breakfast, and from tying his shoes to stepping outside of the door. And he is the first to arrive at the locker room, as usual.</p><p> </p><p>Then he performs his routine: from getting changed to cleaning the locker room, and from taking his lessons to having a lunch.</p><p> </p><p>Everything seems unchanged, except for Kita’s thinking of something he hasn’t thought about before.</p><p> </p><p>He hasn’t figured that something out yet.</p><p> </p><p>“Kita-san!”</p><p> </p><p>Being interrupted from his thoughts, Kita looks down the window and sees Atsumu. His underclassman happens to pass by the third-years’ classroom, calling his name with a big smile. Osamu is standing next to his brother, inserting coins into a vending machine while nodding to Kita as a greeting.</p><p> </p><p>He sees the twins glowing under the golden sunlight.</p><p> </p><p>Just as he knows Osamu wants the beef keychain as he knows Atsumu likes fatty tuna, he feels them as one as he sees them as two.</p><p> </p><p>He realizes he has one same feeling for the both of them.</p><p> </p><p>“Is it raining?” Atsumu grabs his yoghurt drink from the vending machine.</p><p> </p><p>“A sun-shower*. So the fox is getting married.” His brother has already finished half bottle of drink.</p><p> </p><p>“Samu, you sound like you’re 60.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s none of ya business.”</p><p> </p><p>A sun-shower is created when the rain falls while the sun is still shining. It is something in between two weathers, and it is something that is two weathers.</p><p> </p><p>It is a rainy day; it is not a rainy day.</p><p> </p><p>It is a sunny day; it is not a sunny day.</p><p> </p><p>It could be both; it could be neither.</p><p> </p><p>As Kita smiles back to the twins, he realizes he has figured it out.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>September 29th, Saturday. 20% chance of rain.</p><p> </p><p>Kita plans to get some band-aids to replenish the team’s first-aid kit. As he walks inside the convenient store, he sees the twins standing around the lottery machine.</p><p> </p><p>“Good morning, Atsumu, Osamu.”</p><p> </p><p>It seems the twins are too focused to even notice him. So he grabs the band-aids and walks to the checkout counter.</p><p> </p><p>780 yen gets him two boxes of band-aids and a lottery draw.</p><p> </p><p>He knows the store is holding a lottery, and he knows the pool is still open. Just as he notices the twins have been actively participating in the draws.</p><p> </p><p>Kita hands in his receipt and takes his shot.</p><p> </p><p>“Wow Congratulations! You hit the jackpot!”</p><p> </p><p>He knows Atsumu and Osamu have been trying hard to hit the jackpot.</p><p> </p><p>He also knows October 5th is their birthday.</p><p> </p><p>Kita looks to the twins as they are looking at him: “Atsumu, Osamu, I want to invite you to have dinner with me next Friday. To celebrate your birthday.”</p><p> </p><p>And he sees himself in their eyes.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*A sun-shower is also called “the monkey’s wedding” in English, and “the fox’s wedding” or <em>Kitsune no Yomeiri</em> (狐の嫁入り) in Japanese.</p>
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